April 29, 2010
 Collette Bigelow, of Horsham, had a very important reason for attending the Eastern Montgomery County March of Dimes March for Babies, held on April 25 at Temple University Ambler.
On September 16, 2008, her little girl, Stella Grace, was born prematurely at just 25 weeks into Bigelow’s pregnancy — she weighed just 1 pound, 13 ounces. Stella spent 99 days in the Abington Hospital NICU before her family could take her home. For Bigelow, the March of Dimes’ continued efforts to prevent pre-term birth and increase research to find the cause of prematurity is a very personal cause.
“Seeing the people that support prematurity awareness, I became one of them and I try every day to make at least one person aware of the cause and what it means to me,” she said. “Seeing the hundreds of walkers and being a part of it, it’s very powerful. It’s such a wonderful day of fun with such an important message.”
On April 25, Bigelow, her husband Nathan, daughter Anna, an army of immediate family, grandparents and cousin and Stella Grace herself were well represented among the “Family Teams” that joined nearly 800 walkers to raise more than an astounding $250,000 at the Ambler Campus — $70,000 more than was raised at the site in 2009! This was the 13th consecutive year Temple University Ambler has served as a March of Dimes March for Babies (formerly known as WalkAmerica) host.
 “This event does not happen without the dedication of everyone involved, from months of planning, to the day of March for Babies,” said March of Dimes WalkAmerica site coordinator Traci Bruno. “No matter your role, the fact that you helped and were there when we needed you means that future babies’ lives will be saved.”
A gray, rainy day did little to dampen the spirits of the walkers. According to Ambler Campus March of Dimes Committee member and team coordinator Michelle Morales-Whiting, Ambler’s team had an extremely successful year in their effort to raise funds for the March of Dimes’ important research.
“It was truly exciting planning for the March for Babies this year! It started when we attended the Student Government meeting back in March and discovered that several student groups had already joined together to plan pretzel sales benefiting the March of Dimes — the sale raised nearly $495! We are so thankful to all of the student groups involved with that effort; their enthusiasm was contagious and really did help to jumpstart our team,” she said. “Another event that helped drive our fundraising efforts was Blue Jeans for Babies. Many members of the staff and faculty participated by making a donation to the Ambler Team — we raised $490 during this event!”
According to Morales-Whiting, the Ambler Campus Team raised $3,360, far exceeding the campus goal of $2,000. Brittany Richardson and Annmarie Stanton tied for the top student walkers, both raising $270, with Heather Renshaw close behind having raised $200. Ambler Campus Marketing and Special Events Coordinator Rachel Berger was the top staff walker, raising $416!
“In addition to all of the dedicated teams and individual walkers, we have to give a special thank you to all of our volunteers who pulled themselves out of bed on a cold, wet Sunday morning to be at Bright Hall Circle to help before, during and after the walk,” she said. “A huge thank you also to our wonderful crew from Facilities Management who arrived early in the morning to set up and stayed late to break everything down.”
 In the next couple of months, the Ambler Campus March for Babies Committee will begin meeting again to plan for the 2011 walk,” said Morales-Whiting.
“I look so forward to working with the students and staff again,” she said. “We are hoping some students and staff will decide to join the planning committee and others will join us as volunteers so that we can make the 2011 walk even bigger and better!”
March for Babies is the March of Dimes’ largest yearly fundraiser. Ambler Campus site walkers come from more than 80 companies, organizations, schools, and families in the Ambler area.
Money raised during the walk, Bruno said, often stays right in this area.
“With so many teaching hospitals in the region, such as Abington and Thomas Jefferson, March of Dimes is able to help communities come together for our mission,” she said. “In 2009, $3.9 million came back to Pennsylvania hospitals.”
For more information on how to support March of Dimes March for Babies at Temple University Ambler, contact Michelle Morales-Whiting at 267-468-8080 or michelle.whiting@temple.edu.
The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs for research, community services, education, and advocacy to save babies. For more information on the March of Dimes, visit the organization’s website at www.modimes.org. |
